


The Search

by mademoisellePlume



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-03 00:11:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mademoisellePlume/pseuds/mademoisellePlume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What's left of the Animorphs after the war are moving between universes, searching for something, and meeting alternate versions of themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start

In a nebulous world outside of anything familiar or comforting, five figures stood on nothing at all, preparing themselves.

  
At first glance, they seemed young, teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them.

  
But the lives they'd lived thus far had been more then enough, and you could see that when you looked in their eyes. The one named Jake faced his team. "We know what we're looking for. We need to stay sharp, stay focused, and prioritize each other over everything else. We're going to see weird shit."

  
"And here I thought we'd run out of things to find weird." Joked a long haired young man, wearing the best clothing money could buy.

  
Jake gave him a Look, tempered by weariness and pain. Marco popped off a salute. "Yessir General Teacher Dude!"

  
"Ax, go human." Jake instructed, ignoring his friend. "We don't know if they're going to know you as an andalite or what, it's better to be safe rather then sorry."

  
<Of course Prince Jake.> Ax began to morph as Jake winced.

  
"You're a Prince yourself, Ax. You know you don't have to call me that."

  
<But you are in charge again. And it makes-> His thought-speak cut off, but he finished the thought with his mouth. "It makes me remember being us. The Animorphs. Moruphs."

  
Jakes lips almost moved into a smile. He turned to the last two there. "Tobias, be our eyes in the sky as soon as we're there. And Cassie... last chance to back out."

  
Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "If you dare suggest I don't want to be here again, Jake Berenson, you'll regret it."

  
He nodded.

  
"Alright. Lets do it."

  
Their surroundings turned into a milky white glow. And they popped out of existence.


	2. Princess Rashiel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Princess Rashiel is from http://princess-rashiel.tumblr.com/, written by TyrianTerror and Scottologist and is on indefinite hiatus.

Jake opened his eyes to find an andalite tailblade against his throat. He held still. Had they arrived in another universe and wound up at Visser Three's mercy? Then he frowned. The andalite resembled Alloran, but was much smaller. And the tailblade felt smaller.

Behind the andalite, he saw a stunned-looking younger version of himself. He saw a younger Ax holding his tailblade to the neck of his Ax, and Cassie and Marco both had their younger selves pinned down, using age and size against them. Two hawks, high above, circled the scene, probably close to attacking.

"So who would you be?" He asked his own captor, lifting his eyebrows. He didn't exactly feel threatened by a half-grown Andalite.

<None of your business, yeerk scum!>

Cassie released her younger self with a gasp. Marco's eyes went wide. Ax's tail-blade quivered just a little. Tobias let out a hawk screech.

Jake smiled. "Rachel." The sound of that voice, even as thought-speech, soothed him. <That is not my name! Explain yourself! Why do you look like Prince Jake!> The Andalite girl demanded.

Jake spread his arms. "Because I am. Have you kids met the Ellimist?" The scowl on his younger self's face made it clear they had. "Alright, herd us somewhere nice and safe, watch us for three days. We won't go through the fugue. We won't escape. Though we could."

"We shouldn't risk keeping them." Young Marco adviced calmly, having given up fighting against his older self. He had grown since they were this age, so the younger boy was being hugged across the chest, his feet off the ground. He crossed his arms over the arms holding him up, but was otherwise unhappily and sulkily limp.

Jake's Marco didn't seem to care, grinning wriggling his eyebrows at Jake as if to draw his attention to how much he had indeed grown. "Aw c'mon shrimp, you gotta at least want to interrogate us for what info we might have."

"Don't call me shrimp! And why should we trust you?"

<We should not. Marco is correct.>

"This version of Rachel agrees with Marco? I don't think this is actually her." Cassie said, her voice light and teasing, but her eyes bleak as she recaptured her younger self, who fought with silent intensity. Littler Cassie's teeth started to lengthen, but when she went to snap at her captor, Cassie's teeth were longer and she was snarling in return.

<Of course it is not this 'Rachel.' That is Rashiel-Jorian-Bren.> Something about the young Ax's tone was rude and snarky, behaviour I'd never seen from him in a battle situation.

<That's Princess Rashiel-Jorian-Bren to you, Aximili!> The girl snapped back, both of her stalk eyes focusing on Ax. And that's when Jake grabbed the base of the tail-blade, holding it steady so she would have to fight hard to free it, and moved in to grab her neck with his other hand.

The young versions of them all froze.

Jake smiled at his younger self, who was glowering at him. "When I was infested for a short time by Temrash 114, we had a little hut off a ways that way. I think we can all fit. How about you hold little Rashiel back from attacking me when I let her go, and I'll lead the way, if it's still there."

"...Rach. Do not attack him." He ordered, flinching violently at the mention of the slug Jake had shared with his older brother.

Slowly, Jake let go, first of her throat and then her tail. She whipped it back and was close to whipping it forward when Marco coughed. She dug her hoof into the ground, past any edible grass, and kicked it at him, and trotted off to stand besides young Jake.

Actual Jake nodded at Marco, who sighed and gave his younger self a cuddle before releasing him. Marco kicked him in the shin angrily, making Marco start cussing in words that Jake didn't understand but was definitely not fit for polite company.

Jake should probably tell Marco not to swear around children, but he knew very well they were learning Hork-Bajir swears at this age.

Cassie let go of little Cassie who ignored her older self and marched up to Jake himself. He looked into her eyes, which were filled with uncomfortable clarity. "Either you're a Controller, or something has gone very wrong for you."

Jake smiled and broke eye contact. He looked at himself, younger, nobler, better and the fact that he could think that about this weathered little general of a child spoke volumes about how he'd grown up. "Shall we? I'd like to be able to explain things sooner rather then later."

The Tobiases, reacting to one of the Andalite's thought speech, spun off in the right direction, and Jake's group led the way, the younger team taking battle morphs to accompany them.

They tried to make small talk with their younger selves, but got nothing but growling and the silent treatment.

So instead, they talked to each other, knowing they could hear them.

"So if Rachel's an andalite, then is Jordan the oldest?" Marco asked Jake.

"I'd guess so. I wonder what she's like as the eldest kid." Jake mused with a shrug.

Cassie grinned. "She always had a good head on her shoulder, she'd just be a bit cockier and less likely to listen to anyone else."

<Perhaps she would not think I am a pokey-man.> Was Ax's contribution.

<What is a pokey-man?> Rashiel asked. <And who is-Aximili!> She cut off with a sudden 'shout' of irritation, little Ax clanking his tail-blade against hers rudely. Clearly, a private argument in thought-speak ensued, going by body language, and all of the older team watched with great interest.

They all willingly went into the hut, finding Tobias perched inside already. The animals stayed outside, likely deciding on a watch rotation and getting into a fight about television in the middle of the deliberations.

<Did you have to pick the poor kid up?> He asked Marco, cocking his head a little to the side and studying him with those fierce eyes.

"I had to prove how much taller I've grown!" Marco defended himself with a pleased little grin. "You guys were right, I'm like, tiny!"

<WE CAN STILL HEAR YOU!> Was broadcasted publically in time with an annoyed gorilla's screech. Marco snickered.

"Will they try and tie us up?" Cassie wondered, finding a chair and sitting on it. "I'm not spending three days tied up on top of being in this tiny hut with you four."

"We promised not to escape the hut, not to let them tie us up. Just morph out of them if they try it." Marco advised easily.

Jake sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall, one leg stretched out in front of him and the other folded so he could prop an arm on his knee. He was directly across from the door.

<I want to learn more about this Rashiel-Jorian-Bren. I was not the only one to note the similarity, I hope?> Ax said calmly, standing at the back right corner of the room, at least one eye focused on each corner other then the one he stood in. Nothing escaped a wary Andalite's notice.

"We've learned how to tell Andalites apart, Ax, yes." Jake said, wondering just how Rachel's existance in this universe had been turned inside out like this. "She certainly isn't fond of you, now is she."

<Well, you remember how Ax was at the beginning. How most Andalites view females. Rachel would never stand for that.> Tobias spoke, his thought speak carefully bland and devoid of any emotion.

Cassie smiled softly.

The door opened. Jake watched his younger self, flanked by a girl with his nose and smile and Cassie's hair and skin just a bit lighter then hers. She somehow still looked like a model, despite clearly being drawn from just Jake and Cassie, two incredibly unmodelish people. They all knew this was Rachel.

"Practical cutieface plus big awkward guy equals that?" Marco muttered skeptically.

"I'm not awkward!" Jake protested immidiately.

Cassie made an uncertain noise. "You kind of are, Jake."

"Hey!"

Little Jake cleared his throat. "So before we decide we're not going to just kill you all while you're cornered, maybe you want to actually tell us why we should care about overgrown versions of us?"

"You are pretty awkward-duh, Prince Jake." Rashiel told him.

"Rach, not now."

"It's a testament. Tament. To my skill that this form came out at all presentable." She pulled awkwardly at the leotard that she had to have bought herself. It wasn't possible Cassie had ever paid money for a pink leotard with a giant crown design.

"Rach, the only one worse at morphing then you is Marco." A gorilla made an annoyed sound from outside and the shorter Jake rolled his eyes.

"I am not-" She started to argue hotly, turning and jabbing at his chest with a finger, and it was Jake's turn to cough.

"You wanted our story?" He asked with a wry little smirk.

His younger self coloured and crossed his arms. "Go on." He said shortly.

"You know Jake-man, I never appreciated how adorable you were when you were embarassed at this age." Marco said with a chuckle, winking at the 14 year old.

"Marco, you be nice." Cassie told him sternly. "His adorableness is not for you to appreciate, you're eighteen."

"He's basically our Jake though!" Marco protested.

The young Jake was brick red at this point. Rashiel poked his cheek curiously until he swatted her hand away.

"Enough." Jake took pity on his other self. "We are tracking down something important to us. We can't say what, there's the typical bullshit about spies, fabric of reality unraveling, etc. So we're being sent through different timelines and diferent universes, where things unfolded differently. For example, your Rachel is an Andalite of some relation to Alloran-"

Jake was cut off by Rashiel's hand against his throat. "How did you know?" She hissed, fury marring her pretty features.

Part of him realized that if him and Cassie were together and had a daughter, she might look like this. It made answering hard, through a suddenly closed throat.

<Because we've fought him ourselves, more times then we can count. I have even returned him to his wife on the Andalite homeworld, in our universe.> Ax answered for him, and Rashiel released his throat, staring at him with wide eyes.

"You took him home to my mother?"

<...They have no children.>

"I am his daughter!" Rashiel's eyes blazed with painful pride and her shoulders straightened. Jake noticed she lost the compulsion to play with words when she became angered, her words becoming careful and stilted, clearly not wanting to look silly when she meant business. "I am his child, and I will deliver him from his fate, whether by salvation or by my blade!"

Ax considered this, his eyes blank of emotion. <A noble cause for a daughter. I wish you well in this universe.>

"What was she in your universe?" Jake asked. "You mentioned... people I know."

"Your cousins. My... our Rachel was their older sister." He amended his statement when he got glares from all of his team. Keeping his possessive guilt in check was something he had to practice. Rachel might be his biggest mistake, his biggest regret, but she was never, ever his alone.

<Its not in this universe though.> Tobias said firmly. <We need to move on. No need to waste time.>

"Are you sure?" Marco asked him, serious for once.

<You're asking me that? Me?> Tobias said, a little incredulously.

"He's right. There's no need to waste time, we need to get what we set out to claim." Jake agreed, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to the younger Jake, who seemed confused.

"How do you know it's not here?" The younger Jake asked, taking his hand.

Cassie let Tobias perch on her arm as she got up, joining the rest of the team falling into place behind Jake. "We just do."

"I wanted to see Andalite Rachel eating something in human morph." Marco complained.


End file.
